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Nick Hidalgo

@nickhidalgo.bsky.social
317 followers 132 following 29 posts

Senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California

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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
ICE is arresting large numbers of people in Fresno and other Central Valley communities. While much remains unknown about the scope and duration of this operation, immigrants have rights. If ICE arrests someone you know, call the Valley Watch Rapid Response Network: 559-206-0151. Share widely.
aclunorcal.org
Know Your Rights: If ICE Confronts You - ACLU of Northern California
Do NOT open your door. ICE can’t come into your home unless they have a signed search warrant or you let them in.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Our new podcast MAKE the CASE launches today! Go behind the scenes of legal battles around the most consequential issues of our day, from surveillance & immigration to voting rights & police accountability. Listen at www.aclunorcal.org/make-the-case/ and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Hell yeah. ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-...
ocasio-cortez.house.gov
NEWS: Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, Merkley Unveil Ban Flock Act to Protect Americans’ Right to Privacy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the Ban Flock Act, legislation to put an end to the rise ...
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 02/10/2026
EFF and @aclu-norcal.bsky.social have demanded records from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office following a news report that it has shared Flock data with out-of-state and federal agencies – a violation of the 2022 settlement of our lawsuit, and of state law.
eff.org
We Demand More Information on How Marin Cops Illegally Shared Flock ALPR Data
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office is the latest California law enforcement agency to get caught sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data from their Flock Safety system with out-of-state and ...
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In 2022, the Marin Sheriff agreed to stop sharing ALPR information out-of-state in violation of state law. But two years later the Sheriff's Office broke the law again. Today @aclu-norcal.bsky.social and @eff.org demanded more information about the breach. www.aclunorcal.org/press-releas...
aclunorcal.org
Marin County Sheriff's Office Shared Automated License Plate Reader Information with Outside Law Enforcement Agencies - ACLU of Northern California
The California ACLUs and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the county in 2021 for illegally sharing drivers' locations with federal and out-of-state agencies.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Well this is horrifying. This company is looking at Flock and proudly saying, “I can make it even worse!”
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Mike Katz-Lacabe @mlacabe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is journalism holding power to account. However, it wouldn't need to if law enforcement agencies had not installed a mass surveillance infrastructure ripe for abuse.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Chad Marlow @chadmarlow.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
youtu.be/DMP2aoK11u4?...
youtu.be
ACLU attorney claims venture capitalism and Flock AI creating 'surveillance industrial complex'
YouTube video by USA TODAY
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
San Jose's proposed protocols are insufficient under the law and don't do enough to curb abuse. Officers should get a warrant before running searches through our stored location information.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Chad Marlow @chadmarlow.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.aclu.org/press-releas...
aclu.org
ACLU Privacy Expert to Testify at Bipartisan Senate Hearing on Flock and Other Automatic License Plate Readers | American Civil Liberties Union
WHAT: The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will hold a hearing on Wednesday entitled, “Always Watching: Flock’s...
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Dozens of officers have been charged or accused of abusing tech like Flock for stalking and spying on exes, partners, exes' new partners, and other unauthorized targets. Mass surveillance is ripe for abuse, and too often it's weaponized against the very people it's purported to protect. #DropFlock
mercurynews.com
San Jose police officer fired after using Flock database to track cousin’s domestic violence accuser
SJPD revealed a data breach involving a now-former officer sharing tracking information about a potential domestic violence victim to his relative.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 18/09/2026
This is why I hate "just a tool" so so so much. You can make a calculator without access to every calculation. You can make photoshop without access to all photos. Someone show me a genai tool that didn't require all of our labour in its production. It's plagiarism software.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
OpenAI and Microsoft admitted LLMs are predatory tech built on “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document said AI has created a “doom loop” that is killing “the entire web.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
404media.co
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 14/09/2026
1/3 Here's a riddle: Why did a Goshen Police Department officer search 6,474 automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks, representing data from 82,413 cameras, on May 7, 2025? www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
The High Crime of “LMAO”: How Cops Are Treating Mass Surveillance As
With no warrant requirements, limited guardrails, and deficient audit processes, ALPR databases have fostered a culture of unrestricted access to everyone’s location information. This culture of
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Flock is very serious surveillance technology that cops take very seriously: 404media.co/cops-search-...
404media.co
Cops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’
The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Automated license plate readers cause plenty of harm and surveillance companies want to make them even more invasive. It has never been more important for California privacy law to keep up. The Court should take the case to clarify SB 34's standing requirement.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Today with @sdicaclu.bsky.social and @eff.org we asked the California Supreme Court to review a court of appeal's decision that threatens to undermine the privacy goals of California's primary automated license plate reader law (SB 34). www.aclunorcal.org/news/aclu-an...
aclunorcal.org
ACLU California and EFF Ask California Supreme Court to Recognize the Harm of License Plate Surveillance - ACLU of Northern California
The Court of Appeal’s new requirement would undermine the purpose of SB 34 and the California constitutional right to privacy.
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Elizabeth Hidalgo Reese @yunpovi.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
All U.S. courts have judicial review, (aka the supreme power to tell other parts of the government they are behaving unlawfully) right? Actually, no. Some tribal courts don't. Read my latest in UChicago Law Review for more.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
License plate readers are awful and have been for a long time. I wrote a piece about just how awful, why they have lots of attention now, and some ways California law can reduce their harms. But the best strategy is still to break up with big surveillance tech. www.dailyjournal.com/articles/394...
dailyjournal.com
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Breaking! In a major win, today we settled our lawsuit with Sonoma County over its runaway drone surveillance program that trampled people's rights to privacy. No one should be afraid to open their blinds or go into their backyard because a government drone might be spying on their home.
live-awp-norcal.pantheonsite.io
ACLU Settles Lawsuit with Sonoma County, Curbing Invasive Runaway Drone Surveillance Program that Trampled People’s Privacy - ACLU of Northern California
ACLU Settlement Victory for Privacy Protections
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"The evidence is clear that while surveillance has increased exponentially, public safety has not." www.aclunorcal.org/app/uploads/...
aclunorcal.org
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
More national scrutiny of ALPRs is good, but this piece accepts the surveillance industry framing that dragnet unblinking AI-powered cameras make us safer. They don't.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
404 Media @404media.co · 26/08/2026
Garrett Langley, Flock’s CEO, told cops that a 404 Media story about cops using Flock to track someone who self-administered an abortion was "entirely false." He's lying.
404media.co
Flock’s CEO Is Lying to Cops About 404 Media's Reporting on Abortion Case
Garrett Langley, Flock’s CEO, told cops that a 404 Media story about cops using Flock to track someone who self-administered an abortion was "entirely false." He's lying.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Flock and other surveillance companies are not satisfied tracking just your car. They want to follow you wherever you go using ever more invasive methods. Time to tell policymakers enough is enough. Break up with surveillance tech. www.wired.com/story/flock-...
wired.com
Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code
Flock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 14/08/2026
Ironclad surveillance dictum: any failure of surveillance tech will be used as a rationale for more surveillance tech, and any success of surveillance tech will also be used as a rationale for more surveillance tech.
vanityfair.com
Exclusive: The Founders of Flock Say Their Surveillance Tech Would’ve Solved the Nancy Guthrie Case
In their first joint interview at the company’s sleek but rather deserted HQ in Atlanta, Flock cofounders Garrett Langley and Paige Todd deflect all the criticism and lament that they haven’t megaphon...
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The Onion gets it!
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Flock is trying to solve what it sees as a PR problem rather than address the underlying problems with license plate readers. These changes won't work and don't do anything to address the underlying privacy harms caused by their dragnet surveillance business.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
License plate readers were already a privacy nightmare. Then came SignalTrace, which adds new sensors to existing ALPR cameras. From mobile phones to fitness trackers, from Bluetooth headphones to smartwatches, it picks up signals from any personal device you carry that emits one.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
jasmine mithani @jazzmyth.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Everyone is talking about Flock but I've been reading the same article for 15 years about different technologies so I rage wrote about it for @19thnews.org 19thnews.org/2026/08/floc...
19thnews.org
Flock is just the latest example of using surveillance to stalk women
The technology is under fire for how police officers have abused it. But it’s only the symptom of a larger problem.
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Rachel Levinson-Waldman @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Automatic license plate readers are having a moment - but probably not the moment their vendors are hoping for. John Oliver threw down the gauntlet last week in an episode highlighting many of the concerns about LPRs - incl that they allow the govt to go back in time and see where you've been. 1/19
youtube.com
Police Surveillance Technology: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Truthout @truthout.org · 10/08/2026
Hundreds of local police departments are preparing to deploy autonomous, AI-driven surveillance drones. The drones are capable of following a single vehicle across an entire city, capturing footage through apartment windows, and generally recording daily life from the sky without being noticed.
truthout.org
First Came the Flock Cameras. Now Local Cops Want Autonomous Drones.
Hundreds of local police departments have received waivers to fly surveillance drones that navigate with AI.
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
ACLU @aclu.org · 10/08/2026
No matter where we are on the political spectrum, we should all be able to agree: Our privacy should never be traded for profit.
nytimes.com
Flock Cameras Can Track Every Car in America. Police Love Them. Citizens Don’t.
In Texas, there’s one thing liberals and conservatives agree on: They don’t want cameras trained on their cars.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Even law enforcement officers know there is something inherently wrong with license plate readers and try to hide when they use the surveillance devices. Police secrecy should not be prioritized over privacy for anyone else. www.404media.co/do-not-menti...
404media.co
‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock
“DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE. DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE IN YOUR REPORT OR COMPLAINT."
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Reposted by Nick Hidalgo
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 03/08/2026
"Flock cameras are just one part of a vast ecosystem," @lastweektonight.com's John Oliver warned his audience last night. "Check out resources like the EFF's Atlas of Surveillance, which catalogs each of the technologies used in your area." www.atlasofsurveillance.org/
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ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Communities across the country are canceling their Flock contracts under public pressure. We built a toolkit to help yours be next! Because here’s the thing: these aren’t normal traffic cameras. They log every passing car into a national database law enforcement—including ICE—can search.
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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 02/08/2026
New: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo
wapo.st
She left her ex. He secretly tracked her through a network of policing cameras.
Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 01/08/2026
You know what would fix this? More cameras.
futurism.com
Flock Surveillance Cameras Are Actually Horrible for Fighting Crime, FBI Data Shows
New FBI data shows case closure rates for the Atlanta Police Department have not improved despite thousands of ALPRs installed since 2021.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
In addition to being creepy and dangerous surveillance dragnets, license plate readers don't even work.
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
What a colossally bad idea. I can't even imagine a positive use case for this product.
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Salomé Viljoen @salome.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
hell yes! 404 media has been doing fantastic work folks, support their work!
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Nick Hidalgo @nickhidalgo.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Come work with us!
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Flock's CEO just told local media its license plate readers don't take video. This came after the LAPD cancelled its contract Except, Flock announced a new feature that can turn "all" Flock cameras into live video cameras. Flock has now deleted the announcement www.404media.co/flocks-ceo-s...
404media.co
Flock's CEO Says its ALPRs Don't Do Video After Repeatedly Announcing They Can
Flock's CEO Garrett Langley says people don't understand the capabilities of its ALPR system, but they do.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New: Public records show how a city that ended its Flock contract spent months trying to get the company to remove the cameras or turn off the cameras. They were told Flock "objects" to the city removing the camera itself. Eventually city put trash bags over them: www.404media.co/flock-object...
404media.co
Flock ‘Objects to Our Removing Their Equipment’: Emails Reveal Why a Town Put Bags Over Its Flock Cameras
"For the time being, if you or someone on your crew has availability to secure black plastic bags (or something else) over the cameras, that would be great."
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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Very excited to share this with the world. We have been working on it for a while! www.wired.com/story/the-ac...
wired.com
The ACLU Is Arming Lawyers to Expose State Surveillance Secrets
A new toolkit for attorneys in Massachusetts targets the technologies police use—and conceal—to build criminal cases, from facial recognition to AI-written police reports.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Some really crazy cases in here - cop looked up ex-girlfriend and family in Flock 100+ times - cop stalked wife giving "test" as reason - cop searched one plate 395 times in 10 months; was later fired Cops keep getting arrested for using Flock to stalk people www.404media.co/cops-keep-ge...
404media.co
Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People
There have been more than a dozen cases around the country where police use Flock to obsessively and illegally stalk people.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Part of what this scandal shows is how many constantly-monitored cameras there are in some cities. In this case it's not just livestreams of police cameras. There are cameras from private businesses/clubs/community centers being piped directly to cops in real time: www.404media.co/city-learns-...
404media.co
City Learns Flock Accessed Cameras in Children's Gymnastics Room as a Sales Pitch Demo, Renews Contract Anyway
Residents of Dunwoody, Georgia are furious about the city's surveillance contract with Flock. Do their elected officials care?
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Salomé Viljoen @salome.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
The only thing that anyone should hear as they read this:
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Making a free cycling game @dfeldman.org · 06/04/2026
As I’ve said a million times, I’m not particularly against smart uses of AI This is the stupidest use I’ve seen yet though
recent Axios story on maternal health policy referenced
"findings" that a majority of people trusted their doctors and nurses. On the surface, there's nothing unusual about that. What wasn't originally mentioned, however, was that these findings were made up.
Clicking through the links revealed (as did a subsequent editor's note and clarification by Axios) that the public opinion poll was a computer simulation run by the artificial intelligence start-up Aaru. No people were involved in the creation of these opinions.
The practice Aaru used is called silicon sampling, and it's suddenly everywhere. The idea behind silicon sampling is simple and tantalizing. Because large language models can generate responses that emulate human answers, polling companies see an opportunity to use A.I. agents to simulate survey responses at a small fraction of the cost and time required for traditional polling.
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